Winter's Brightest Smile
by kuku88
Summary: Boomer has been drawing a certain someone, but he can't get her smile quite right. So when he is alone on Christmas Eve in a cafe sketching away in his sketchbook, who but the very subject he is drawing happens to approach? Bubbles wants to know why he's all by himself, leading to an awkward conversation that may get warmer, helping Boomer finally finish his drawing. Rated K, R&R!


_It's been absolutely forever since I posted an one-shot, huh? Especially a PPG one._

 _Don't worry! I'm totally still into the show. Just been busy with school and other real life issues. You know the kind. xP_

 _This one's a bit late for Christmas, but it's for a contest on DeviantART that asked people to write a holiday story. And long-time readers of mine know I do a lot of PPG Christmas stories, but I haven't done Bubbles x Boomer in awhile, hence this story haha._

 _I originally wanted to submit **"Still Young so Make the Most of It"** (please check it out! I'm still really proud of that one). But that one's 9000 words and while this contest doesn't have a word limit, I was told the preferred range is 100-500 (which is really hard for me because 500 is basically a conversation between two characters for me haha). So I'm already pushing it with this story, since this one's 1000 words._

 _I tried; I really did, but it was really really hard to chop words down. Hopefully it's still alright because this is still a pretty short read... ;~;_

 _Oh, and the story had to be brand new. That was another piece of criteria haha._

 _Anyway, on to the story! Merry late Christmas and happy late New Year! I hope 2018 is great for all of you! :)_

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" the cashier behind the counter called to another happy and satisfied customer, waving goodbye. He then turned to Boomer, who was sitting at a table nearby. "You want anything else, buddy? You've been here awhile."

The boy shook his head. "I'm good—just busy drawing. Thanks anyway, Bat."

"Anything for a friend." Bat began pouring a cup of hot chocolate for himself as he kept speaking. "You know, it's almost Christmas. You shouldn't be out here all by yourself."

"I like it here by myself. It's quiet." Boomer shrunk into himself, his shoulders rising up to his ears as he focused more intensely on his sketching.

Bat pursed his lips, before shrugging and taking a sip of the warm beverage. "If you say so."

Boomer didn't reply, only continuing his work. The lights were dim in the café as he sketched. It was luckily just lit enough so that he didn't have to strain his eyes while drawing, but the café was obviously going for a more serene Christmas atmosphere that night.

He glanced outside and snorted. The weather didn't seem to be going for serene Christmas; it was snowing pretty heavily now, and Boomer shuddered at the idea of having to travel home in all that snow. It hadn't nearly been so bad when he'd come out to get some Christmas shopping done. _But,_ he mused quietly, _some people would view it as romantic._

 _And speaking of_ that _…_ He glanced back at the subject he was sketching.

She was sitting a few tables away, halfway across the room from him. Her curly blond hair was tied up in her usual pigtails, currently mostly obscured by a blue toque. She was laughing and chatting excitedly with her sisters, and her cheery attitude seemed to be spreading to them, causing their own smiles to brighten at just how bright _her_ smile was.

She paused, seemingly sensing the eyes on her, before looking up and catching his eye. One of her sisters noticed too, leaning over to whisper something in her ear.

Boomer jolted, feeling his face burn as he quickly refocused on his sketchbook. He worked at a much quicker, more focused pace now. _Don't think about her and you,_ he told himself, almost scoldingly. _It's not going to happen._

Because of his intense focus, he missed the smile that crossed her face.

 _It's not going to happen,_ Boomer repeated to himself. He sighed, erasing her smile again. It just wasn't right. He wasn't capturing the sincerity of it—it was like she'd somehow managed to take a piece of the sun with her, and now she shone so bright it was impossible to recreate on paper.

He stuck his tongue out and shifted his sketchbook, trying to rework her lips. He became so absorbed in his work, he didn't notice the girl in blue now floating near him.

"Peek-a-boo," the girl said.

Boomer nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned, immediately flushing a deep pink when he realized that she was in front of him. "H-H-Hey, Bubbles," he stammered nervously. Even just saying her name made his heartbeat quicken. "Wh-What brings you here?"

"I wanted to see what you were working on," she explained, smiling reassuringly. "And to ask you why you were all alone. Where are your brothers? It's Christmas Eve; you shouldn't have to spend the holiday by yourself."

His face was still red as he quickly replied, "I-I'm not alone! I mean…I'm not lonely, at least." He looked down, embarrassed. "I just came out to get some Christmas shopping done. I'm currently resting so I can wait out the snow outside."

"So what are you working on?" she asked again, looking happy that he wasn't actually spending the holidays without loved ones.

"N-Nothing." Boomer awkwardly and protectively tried to cover as much of the sketchbook as possible with his arms. His eyes darted back to where she'd been sitting; her sisters had now all paused their conversation, and were watching their exchange with high interest. He felt mortified, his heart pounding against his ribcage.

"Can I see?" Bubbles inquired softly.

He shook his head wildly. "No!" When he spotted her taken aback expression, he clarified: "N-No…I'm sorry. It's really dumb and embarrassing."

"I for one know that you're a brilliant artist, Boomie. And that nothing you make is dumb. But I won't press the issue if you don't want me to." She glanced at the empty seat across from him. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"Umm…no. Go ahead," he mumbled back.

Bubbles sat down, cupping her face with her hands. "Could you at least tell me how the drawing is going?"

"Well…it's not going great. I can't get the—I can't get something vital quite right."

"Maybe I can be of help," she offered, straightening eagerly.

He looked back down, quickly flipping his sketchbook over so that the drawing of Bubbles' face would now be obscured. He shook his head. "That would…require me to show you the drawing."

"Oh…right. Sorry." Bubbles deflated.

"Hey cowards! Look above you!" a voice shouted.

Boomer turned to see Buttercup yelling at them, her hands cupping her mouth while Blossom attempted to shush her. He glanced back at Bubbles, who was now staring at the ceiling and blushing. He followed her gaze and his face reddened.

Bat smirked from behind the counter. "Mistletoe," he stated simply.

"Well." Boomer looked back down, trying to figure out how on earth he was supposed to get out of this horrifyingly embarrassing situation. "I'm sorry, Bubbles. We um…We totally don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"No, I…I want to." She wasn't looking at him now, her own cheeks still bright red. "I-I wouldn't mind."

Boomer's eyes grew large as he tried to process her statement, but before he could, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. His mouth dropped open.

Bubbles pulled back and waited for a reaction, but as Boomer wasn't responding, she stood up. "S-Sorry. I-I guess I'll take my leave now—"

"W-Wait!" Boomer cried before he could stop himself. When she froze and turned to stare at him, he fought through his muddled mind and forced himself to say, "I-I didn't mind the kiss. It was nice."

Bubbles blinked, before smiling shyly. "Thanks, Boomie."

"And," he added quickly, before she could leave, "I want to show you my drawing after all." He lifted the sketchbook and smiled. "It's…It's _you_. I just…I haven't been able to get the smile right yet."

Her baby-blue eyes grew wide and the smile that warmed his heart so much stretched across her face. "I love it! You made me look so pretty!"

Bat skated over just then, setting down a giant mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream. "Free drink for couples who take the mistletoe challenge. As a little…bonus award to what you've already won." He winked before skating off, the wheels of his rollerblades carrying him away smoothly.

"Thank you!" Bubbles called.

Boomer turned to Bubbles and smiled shyly, now feeling as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Relieved, he replied, "I'm glad you like it." He then paused and added shyly, "Would you…like to sit with me for awhile and be my model? I want to try and get your smile right."

"Of course!" Bubbles sat back down and grabbed his hands, beaming. She then frowned and asked, "Why were you drawing _me_ though? Of all people…"

"B-Because…" He looked down, his voice now coming out as a quiet mumble. "Because I l- _like_ you." He waited, but when Bubbles said nothing, he dared to look up.

And she leaned forward and kissed him.

Boomer felt like he was melting from her warmth and his own elation, and when Bubbles pulled back, her smile was brighter and more beautiful than he'd ever seen it. "Merry Christmas, Boomie," she whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Bubbles." He beamed back. He then resolved to sketch a smile just like the one she had then, and when his pencil touched the paper, he found that his hand now flowed freely.

Bubbles waited patiently. She couldn't stop smiling. Neither of them could, and they were perfectly content to stay that way. Meanwhile, Buttercup was smirking triumphantly while Blossom rolled her eyes but smiled affectionately.

To Bubbles and Boomer, the café _now_ felt that much more like Christmas.

* * *

 _Yay for light fluff! It's been awhile since I've done something like this and it was a lot of fun._

 _I hope you guys enjoyed it too; don't forget to favourite if you did and/or leave a review!_


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